President Jacques Chirac has declared a state of emergency to impose curfews on riot-hit cities and towns, an extraordinary measure to halt France's worst civil unrest in decades after violence raged for a 12th night. The state-of-emergency decree allowing curfews where needed will become effective at midnight on Tuesday and has an initial 12-day limit. Police, massively reinforced as the violence has fanned out from its initial flashpoint in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, are expected to enforce the curfews. The army has not been called in.Local officials "will be able to impose curfews on the areas where this decision applies," Chirac said at a cabinet meeting. "It is necessary to accelerate the return to calm." The recourse to a 1955 state-of-emergency law that dates back to France's war in Algeria was a measure both of the gravity of mayhem that has spread to hundreds of French towns and cities and of the determination of Chirac's sorely tested government to quash it. "I have decided ... to give the forces of order supplementary measures of action to ensure the protection of our citizens and their property," Chirac said.
Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said the authorities would be able to restrict the movement of people and vehicles and to set up perimeters around trouble spots. He said 1500 police and gendarme reservists would be deployed as reinforcements for 8000 officers on the ground but ruled out army intervention.